Conventional and combined pump-and-treat systems under nonuniform background flow

We investigate the performance of vertical hydraulic barriers in combination with extraction wells for the partial hydraulic isolation of contaminated aquifer areas. The potential advantage of such combinations compared to a conventional pump-and-treat system has already been demonstrated in a previous study. Here we extend the scope of the performance analysis to the impact of uncertainty in the regional flow direction as well as to highly heterogeneous aquifer transmissivity distributions. In addition, two new well-barrier scenarios are proposed and analyzed. The hydraulic efficiency of the scenarios is rated based on the expected (mean) reduction of the pumping rate that is required to achieve downgradient contaminant capture. The uncertain spatial distribution of aquifer transmissivity is considered by means of unconditioned Monte Carlo simulations. The significance of uncertain background flow conditions is incorporated by computing minimized pumping rates for deviations of the regional flow direction up to 30 degrees from a normative base case. The results give an answer on how pumping rates have to be changed for each barrier-well combination in order to achieve robust systems. It is exposed that in comparison to installing exclusively wells, the barrier-supported approach generally yields savings in the (average) pumping rate. The particular efficiency is shown to be highly dependent on the interaction of variance and integral scale of transmissivity distribution, well and barrier position, as well as direction of background flow.     

Modeling of Contaminant Movement Near Pumping Wells: Saturated-Unsaturated Flow with Particle Tracking

A transient axisymmetric saturated-unsaturated numerical flow model was coupled with a particle tracking model to investigate the movement of contaminants when a shallow unconfined aquifer is pumped at a constant rate. The particle tracking model keeps track of locations and masses of solutes in the aquifer, and the time of capture by the well. At the end of each time-step the flow model solves the Richard's equation for the hydraulic head distribution from which elemental velocities are calculated. Solutes are then displaced for a period equivalent to the time-step using both the magnitude and direction of the elemental velocities. Numerical experiments were performed to investigate effluent concentrations in wells with screens of different length and in different positions relative to zones of stratified contamination. At early times of pumping the effluent concentrations were similar to the concentrations adjacent to the well screen, but at late times, the concentrations approached the vertically averaged concentration in the aquifer. Time to attain the vertically averaged concentration was determined by the well geometry, initial location of the contaminant plume in relation to the well screen, and hydraulic properties of the aquifer. The results are consistent with the hydraulics of flow to a pumping well and of particular importance, they demonstrate that short-term pump tests could give erroneous design concentrations for pump-and-treat systems. The model provides a means of quantifying arrival times and mixing ratios. It could therefore provide a useful means of designing production wells in aquifers with stratified contamination and more efficient recovery systems for aquifer remediation.     

Determination of confined phreatic aquifer anisotropy

The determination of anisotropy in a phreatic aquifer by means of a pumping test can be carried out, under given conditions, with common analysis methods. This paper develops and applies an amended method based on a technique proposed by Boulton (1970). This new method enables a quick, simple determination of vertical hydraulic conductivity, given drawdown data from a pumping well and at least one observation well, that is applicable to confined phreatic aquifers.     

Maximizing Net Extraction Using an Injection‐Extraction Well Pair in a Coastal Aquifer

In this study, we examine the maximum net extraction rate from the novel arrangement of an injection‐extraction well pair in a coastal aquifer, where fresh groundwater is reinjected through the injection well located between the interface toe and extraction well. Complex potential theory is employed to derive a new analytical solution for the maximum net extraction rate and corresponding stagnation‐point locations and recirculation ratio, assuming steady‐state, sharp‐interface conditions. The injection‐extraction well‐pair system outperforms a traditional single extraction well in terms of net extraction rate for a broad range of well placement and pumping rates, which is up to 50% higher for an aquifer with a thickness of 20 m, hydraulic conductivity of 10 m/d, and fresh water influx of 0.24 m²/d. Sensitivity analyses show that for a given fresh water discharge from an inland aquifer, a larger maximum net extraction is expected in cases with a smaller hydraulic conductivity or a smaller aquifer thickness, notwithstanding physical limits to drawdown at the pumping well that are not considered here. For an extraction well with a fixed location, the optimal net extraction rate linearly increases with the distance between the injection well and the sea, and the corresponding injection rate and recirculation ratio also increase. The analytical analysis in this study provides initial guidance for the design of well‐pair systems in coastal aquifers, and is therefore an extension beyond previous applications of analytical solutions of coastal pumping that apply only to extraction or injection wells.     

Optimized system to improve pumping rate stability during aquifer tests

Aquifer hydraulic properties are commonly estimated using aquifer tests, which are based on an assumption of a uniform and constant pumping rate. Substantial uncertainties in the flow rate across the borehole-formation interface can be induced by dynamic head losses, caused by rapid changes in borehole water levels early in an aquifer test. A system is presented that substantially reduces these sources of uncertainty by explicitly accounting for dynamic head losses. The system which employs commonly available components (including a datalogger, pressure transducers, a variable-speed pump motor, a flow controller, and flowmeters), is inexpensive, highly mobile, and easily set up. It optimizes the flow rate at the borehole-formation interface, making it suitable for any type of aquifer test, including constant, step, or ramped withdrawal and injection, as well as sinusoidal. The system was demonstrated for both withdrawal and injection tests in three aquifers at the Savannah River Site. No modifications to the control system were required, although a small number of characteristics of the pumping and monitoring system were added to the operating program. The pumping system provided a statistically significant, constant flow rate with time. The range in pumping variability (95% confidence interval) was from +/- 2.58 x 10(-4) L/sec to +/- 9.07 x 10(-4) L/sec, across a wide range in field and aquifer conditions.     

Small‐Scale ASR Between Flow Barriers in a Saline Aquifer

Regular aquifer storage recovery, ASR, is often not feasible for small‐scale storage in brackish or saline aquifers because fresh water floats to the top of the aquifer where it is unrecoverable. Flow barriers that partially penetrate a brackish or saline aquifer prevent a stored volume of fresh water from expanding sideways, thus increasing the recovery efficiency. In this paper, the groundwater flow and mixing is studied during injection, storage, and recovery of fresh water in a brackish or saline aquifer in a flow‐tank experiment and by numerical modeling to investigate the effect of density difference, hydraulic conductivity, pumping rate, cyclic operation, and flow barrier settings. Two injection and recovery methods are investigated: constant flux and constant head. Fresh water recovery rates on the order of 65% in the first cycle climbing to as much as 90% in the following cycles were achievable for the studied configurations with constant flux whereas the recovery efficiency was somewhat lower for constant head. The spatial variation in flow velocity over the width of the storage zone influences the recovery efficiency, because it induces leakage of fresh water underneath the barriers during injection and upconing of salt water during recovery.     

Reactive barriers: hydraulic performance and design enhancements

The remediation of contaminated ground water is a multibillion-dollar global industry. Permeable reactive barriers (PRBs) are one of the leading technologies being developed in the search for alternatives to the pump-and-treat method. Improving the hydraulic performance of these PRBs is an important part of maximizing their potential to the industry. Optimization of the hydraulic performance of a PRB can be defined in terms of finding the balance between capture, residence time, and PRB longevity that produces a minimum-cost acceptable design. Three-dimensional particle tracking was used to estimate capture zone and residence time distributions. Volumetric flow analysis was used for estimation of flow distribution across a PRB and in the identification of flow regimes that may affect the permeability or reactivity of portions of the PRB over time. Capture zone measurements extended below the base of partially penetrating PRBs and were measured upgradient from the portion of aquifer influenced by PRB emplacement. Hydraulic performance analysis of standard PRB designs confirmed previously presented research that identified the potential for significant variation in residence time and capture zone. These variations can result in the need to oversize the PRB to ensure that downgradient contaminant concentrations do not exceed imposed standards. The most useful PRB design enhancements for controlling residence time and capture variation were found to be customized downgradient gate faces, velocity equalization walls, deeper emplacement of the funnel than the gate, and careful manipulation of the hydraulic conductivity ratio between the gate and the aquifer.     

Cross-borehole flowmeter tests for transient heads in heterogeneous aquifers

Cross-borehole flowmeter tests have been proposed as an efficient method to investigate preferential flowpaths in heterogeneous aquifers, which is a major task in the characterization of fractured aquifers. Cross-borehole flowmeter tests are based on the idea that changing the pumping conditions in a given aquifer will modify the hydraulic head distribution in large-scale flowpaths, producing measurable changes in the vertical flow profiles in observation boreholes. However, inversion of flow measurements to derive flowpath geometry and connectivity and to characterize their hydraulic properties is still a subject of research. In this study, we propose a framework for cross-borehole flowmeter test interpretation that is based on a two-scale conceptual model: discrete fractures at the borehole scale and zones of interconnected fractures at the aquifer scale. We propose that the two problems may be solved independently. The first inverse problem consists of estimating the hydraulic head variations that drive the transient borehole flow observed in the cross-borehole flowmeter experiments. The second inverse problem is related to estimating the geometry and hydraulic properties of large-scale flowpaths in the region between pumping and observation wells that are compatible with the head variations deduced from the first problem. To solve the borehole-scale problem, we treat the transient flow data as a series of quasi-steady flow conditions and solve for the hydraulic head changes in individual fractures required to produce these data. The consistency of the method is verified using field experiments performed in a fractured-rock aquifer.     

An inverse procedure to estimate transmissivity from heads and SP signals

Experimental hydraulic heads and electrical (self-potential) signals associated with a pumping test were used in an inverse model to estimate the transmissivity distribution of a real aquifer. Several works reported in the literature show that there is a relatively good linear relationship between the hydraulic heads in the aquifer and electrical signals measured at the ground surface. In this experimental test field, first, the current coupling coefficient was determined by the best fit between experimental and modeled self-potential signals at the end of the pumping phase. Soon afterward, with the hydraulic heads obtained from the self-potential signals, the transmissivity distribution of the aquifer was conditioned by means an inverse model based on the successive linear estimator (SLE). To further substantiate the estimated T field from the SLE analysis, we analyzed the drawdown rate, the derivative of the drawdown with respect to the ln(t), because the drawdown rate is highly sensitive to the variability in the transmissivity field. In our opinion, these results show that self-potential signals allow the monitoring of subsurface flow in the course of pumping experiments, and that electrical potentials serve as a good complement to piezometric observations to condition and characterize the transmissivity distribution of an aquifer.     

The Sustainable Pumping Rate Concept: Lessons from a Case Study in Central Italy

The term sustainable pumping rate (SPR) is defined as the maximum pumping rate that can be maintained indefinitely without mining an aquifer, and is different from the concept of safe yield (SY), which takes into account also aspects related to the much wider concept of sustainability. The assessment of the SPR for the case study of Petrignano d'Assisi, an alluvial aquifer located in Central Italy, shows the need for a reliable estimate of the global water budget of the aquifer, particularly of the recharge under undisturbed conditions; however, the latter is not sufficient, because the SPR is affected also by the geometry of the aquifer, the hydraulic conductivity pattern, the variation of recharge/discharge ratio induced by the abstractions, and so on. All these aspects are analyzed by means of a numerical flow model calibrated both under undisturbed conditions (1974) and under exploitation conditions (1998 to 2004). The steady-state modeling results show that the relation between recharge and abstractions both at local and global scale is a key point in order to estimate a long-term SPR. Moreover, as it could be necessary to overexploit the aquifer for short periods, e.g., during drought episodes, the estimate of SPR must be performed also in transient conditions, in order to take into account the characteristic time of depletion and the successive recovery.     

Funnel-and-Gate Performance in a Moderately Heterogeneous Flow Domain

The funnel-and-gate ground water remediation technology (Starr and Cherry 1994) has received increased attention and application as an in situ alternative to the typical pump-and-treat system. Understanding the effects of heterogeneity on system performance can mean the difference between a successful remediation project and one that fails to meet its cleanup goals.
In an attempt to characterize and quantify the effects of heterogeneity on funnel-and-gate system performance, a numerical modeling study of 15 simulated heterogeneous flow domains was conducted. Each realization was tested to determine if the predicted capture width met the capture width expected for a homogeneous flow domain with the same hulk properties. This study revealed that the capture width of the funnel-and-gate system varied significantly with the level of heterogeneity of the aquifer.
Two possible remedies were investigated for bringing systems with less than acceptable capture widths to acceptable levels of performance. First, it was determined that enlarging the funnel and gate via a factor of safety applied to the design capture width could compensate for the capture width variation in the heterogeneous flow domains. In addition, it was shown that the use of a pumping well downstream of the funnel and gate could compensate for the effects of aquifer heterogeneity on the funnel-and-gate capture width. However, if a pumping well is placed downstream of the funnel and gate to control the hydraulic gradient through the gate, consideration should be given to the gate residence time in relation to the geochemistry of the contaminant removal or destruction process in the gate.     

Two-stage aquifer pumping subject to slow desorption and persistent sources

This work focuses on improving pump-and-treat remediation by optimizing a two-stage operational scheme to reduce volumes extracted when confronted with nonequilibrium desorption, low-permeability units, and continuous contaminant sources such as non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPL). Q1 and Q2 are the initial short-term high pumping rate and later long-term low pumping rate, respectively. A two-dimensional ground water flow and transport management model was used to test the proposed strategy for plumes developed from finite (NAPL-free) and continuous (NAPL-driven) contaminant sources in homogeneous and nonhomogeneous (zoned) aquifers. Remediation scenarios were simulated over durations of 2000, 6000, and 15,000 d to determine (1) the optimal time to switch from a preset Q1 to Q2 and (2) the value of Q2. The problem was constrained by mass removal requirements, maximum allowable downgradient concentrations, and practical bounds on Q2. Q1 was fixed at preset values 50% to 200% higher than the single-stage pumping rates (i.e., steady pumping rates during entire remediation period) necessary to achieve a desired cleanup level and capture the plume. Results for the NAPL-free homogeneous case under nonequilibrium desorption conditions achieved the same level of cleanup as single-stage pumping, while reducing extracted volumes by up to 36%. Comparable savings were obtained with NAPL-driven sources only when the source concentration was reduced by at least 2 orders of magnitude. For the zoned aquifer, the proposed strategy provided volume savings of up to 24% under NAPL-free and reduced source conditions.     

Necessary conditions for inverse modeling of flow through variably saturated porous media

Non-unique solutions of inverse problems arise from a lack of information that satisfies necessary conditions for the problem to be well defined. This paper investigates these conditions for inverse modeling of water flow through multi-dimensional variably saturated porous media. It shows that in order to obtain a unique estimate of hydraulic parameters, along each streamline of the flow field (1) spatial and temporal head observations must be given; (2) the number of spatial and temporal head observations required should be greater or equal to the number of unknown parameters; (3) the flux boundary condition or the pumping rate of a well must be specified for the homogeneous case and both boundary flux and pumping rate are a must for the heterogeneous case; (4) head observations must encompass both saturated and unsaturated conditions, and the functional relationships for unsaturated hydraulic conductivity/pressure head and for the moisture retention should be given, and (5) the residual water content value also need to be specified a priori or water content measurements are needed for the estimation of the saturated water content.For field problems, these necessary conditions can be collected or estimated but likely involve uncertainty. While the problems become well defined and have unique solutions, the solutions likely will be uncertain. Because of this uncertainty, stochastic approaches are deemed to be appropriate for inverse problems as they are for forward problems to address uncertainty. Nevertheless, knowledge of these necessary conditions is critical to reduce uncertainty in both characterization of the vadose zone and the aquifer, and prediction of water flow and solute migration in the subsurface.     

Strategies for offsetting seasonal impacts of pumping on a nearby stream

Ground water pumping from aquifer systems that are hydraulically connected to streams depletes streamflow. The amplitude and timing of stream depletion depend on the stream depletion factor (SDF(i)) of the pumping wells, which is a function of aquifer hydraulic characteristics and the distance from the wells to the stream. Wells located at different locations, but having the same SDF and the same rate and schedule of pumping, will deplete streamflow equally. Wells with small SDF(i) deplete streamflow approximately synchronously with pumping. Wells with large SDF(i) deplete streamflow at approximately a constant rate throughout the year, regardless of the pumping schedule. For large values of SDF(i), artificial recharge that occurs on a different schedule from pumping can offset streamflow depletion effectively. The requirements are (1) that the pumping and recharge wells both have the same SDF(i) and (2) that the annual total quantities of recharge and pumping be equal. At larger SDF(i) values, it takes longer for pumping to impact streamflow in a wide aquifer than it does in a narrow aquifer. In basins that are closed to further withdrawals because streamflow is fully allocated, water-use changes replace new allocations as the source of water for new developments. Ground water recharge can be managed to offset the impacts of new ground water developments, allowing for changes in the timing and source of withdrawals from a basin without injuring existing users or instream flows.     

Multiple Well-Shutdown Tests and Site-Scale Flow Simulation in Fractured Rocks

A new method was developed for conducting aquifer tests in fractured-rock flow systems that have a pump-and-treat (P&T) operation for containing and removing groundwater contaminants. The method involves temporary shutdown of individual pumps in wells of the P&T system. Conducting aquifer tests in this manner has several advantages, including (1) no additional contaminated water is withdrawn, and (2) hydraulic containment of contaminants remains largely intact because pumping continues at most wells. The well-shutdown test method was applied at the former Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC), West Trenton, New Jersey, where a P&T operation is designed to contain and remove trichloroethene and its daughter products in the dipping fractured sedimentary rocks underlying the site. The detailed site-scale subsurface geologic stratigraphy, a three-dimensional MODFLOW model, and inverse methods in UCODE_2005 were used to analyze the shutdown tests. In the model, a deterministic method was used for representing the highly heterogeneous hydraulic conductivity distribution and simulations were conducted using an equivalent porous media method. This approach was very successful for simulating the shutdown tests, contrary to a common perception that flow in fractured rocks must be simulated using a stochastic or discrete fracture representation of heterogeneity. Use of inverse methods to simultaneously calibrate the model to the multiple shutdown tests was integral to the effectiveness of the approach.     

Analytical and Semi‐Analytical Tools for the Design of Oscillatory Pumping Tests

Oscillatory pumping tests—in which flow is varied in a periodic fashion—provide a method for understanding aquifer heterogeneity that is complementary to strategies such as slug testing and constant‐rate pumping tests. During oscillatory testing, pressure data collected at non‐pumping wells can be processed to extract metrics, such as signal amplitude and phase lag, from a time series. These metrics are robust against common sensor problems (including drift and noise) and have been shown to provide information about aquifer heterogeneity. Field implementations of oscillatory pumping tests for characterization, however, are not common and thus there are few guidelines for their design and implementation. Here, we use available analytical solutions from the literature to develop design guidelines for oscillatory pumping tests, while considering practical field constraints. We present two key analytical results for design and analysis of oscillatory pumping tests. First, we provide methods for choosing testing frequencies and flow rates which maximize the signal amplitude that can be expected at a distance from an oscillating pumping well, given design constraints such as maximum/minimum oscillator frequency and maximum volume cycled. Preliminary data from field testing helps to validate the methodology. Second, we develop a semi‐analytical method for computing the sensitivity of oscillatory signals to spatially distributed aquifer flow parameters. This method can be quickly applied to understand the “sensed” extent of an aquifer at a given testing frequency. Both results can be applied given only bulk aquifer parameter estimates, and can help to optimize design of oscillatory pumping test campaigns.     

A Method for Estimating Field-Scale Mass Transfer Rate Parameters and Assessing Aquifer Cleanup Times

A general method for estimating ground-water solute mass transfer rate parameters from field test data is presented. The method entails matching solute concentration and hydraulic head data collected during the recovery phase of a pumping test through application of a simulation-regression technique. Estimation of hydraulic conductivity and mass transfer rate parameter values is performed by fitting model simulations to the data. Parameter estimates are utilized to assess cleanup times for pump-and-treat aquifer remediation scenarios. Uncertainty in the cleanup time estimate is evaluated using statistical information obtained with the parameter estimation technique. Application of the method is demonstrated using a hypothetical ground-water flow and solute transport system. Simulations of field testing, parameter estimation, and remedial time frames are performed to evaluate the usefulness of the method. Sets of random noise that signify potential field and laboratory measurement errors are combined with the hypothetical data to provide rigorous testing of the method. Field tests are simulated using ranges of values for data noise, the mass transfer rate parameters, the test pumping rates, and the duration of recovery monitoring to evaluate their respective influence on parameter and cleanup time estimates. The demonstration indicates the method is capable of yielding accurate estimates of the solute mass transfer rate parameters. When the parameter values for the hypothetical system are well estimated, cleanup time predictions are shown to be more accurate than when calculated using the local equilibrium assumption.     

Steady flow to a partially penetrating blind‐wall well in a confined aquifer

Wells in aquifers of loose collapsible sediment are cased so that they have a blind wall and gain water only from the bottom. The hydraulic gradient established at the bottom of these wells during pumping brings the aquifer materials in a quicksand state, which may cause abrasion of pipes and pumps and even the destruction of well structure. To examine the quicksand occurrence, an analytical solution for the steady flow to a partially penetrating blind‐wall well in a confined aquifer is developed. The validity of the proposed solution is evaluated numerically. The sensitivity of maximum vertical gradient along the well bottom in response to aquifer and well parameters is examined. The solution is presented in the form of dimensionless‐type curves and equations that can be easily used to design the safe pumping rate and optimum well geometry to protect the well against sand production. The solution incorporates the anisotropy of aquifer materials and can also be used to determine the hydraulic conductivity of the aquifer. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modeling of Plume Capture by Continuous, Low-Permeability Barriers

Modeling was performed to simulate ground water flow through reactive barriers of lower hydraulic conductivity than the surrounding aquifer to determine the plume capture widths. As a plume approaches such a barrier, it spreads laterally. Therefore, to intercept an entire plume, the barrier must be wider than the upgradient width of the undisturbed plume. The results indicate that, for practical values of barrier thickness and plume width, hydraulic conductivities ten-fold less than that of the aquifer can be accommodated by making the width of the barrier approximately 20% greater than the upgradient width of the plume. Barrier hydraulic conductivities one-hundred-fold less than that of the aquifer may require barrier widths up to twice the width of the upgradient plume for plumes 100 feet wide (33 m) and as little as 1.1 times for plumes 1000 feet wide (325 m). The results presented here lend support to the view that novel emplacement methods that create zones of slightly lower hydraulic conductivity than the native aquifer may be viable alternatives to the excavation-and-backfill approaches which have thus far been used for installing permeable reactive barriers.